Course Objectives:

The aim of this course is to build on the students' basic background in the geocsciences and chemistry in order to examine how chemical principles can be used to understand chemical processes occurring on the surface and within the Earth. Thus the course provides students an introduction to the field of geochemistry.

A brief introduction to the chemical composition of the Earth is followed by a discussion the chemistry of ground-, river- and ocean-waters. The chemical aspects of the weathering process and the formation of chemical sediments are also examined in this early part of the course. In the following section basic thermodynamic principles are reviewed. They are subsequently used to examine chemical equilibria within the interior of the Earth at elevated temperatures and pressures which are important for the crystallization of igneous rocks and the chemical and mineralogical changes which occur during metamorphism. In the last section of the course the students are introduced to use of stable and radioactive isotopes to understand geologic processes. The course comes to a close with a discussion of the concept of geochemical reservoirs and an integration of the principles which the students have learned in the course, through an examination of the movements of elements within the Earth and at its surface, that is geochemical cycling.

The regular completion of home work assignments is an integral part of the learning in the course. Generally the assignments require to find a numerical solution to a particular geochemical problem or question using the principles discussed in class. The detailed solution to the homework problems are posted on the course web page as soon as they have been collected. The understanding of the geochemical concepts is further strengthened through a set of supervised, weekly computer lab exercises which are based on lecture material and the homework assignments.